Daily Archives: October 28, 2008
The bloggers from Ladies Locker Room were out in Peoria, AZ, to catch an Arizona Fall League game this past weekend, during which they interview a variety of players.
However, according to their most recent post, Mets 2B Daniel Murphy did not play over the weekend.
He was seen wearing a wrap around his forearm on Saturday, most likely due to an in-game collision that took him to the hospital on Friday night.
Murphy is not in today’s lineup as well, according to MiLB.com.
…Update…8:05 pm…
‘Murphy is expected to return to action in a day or two after taking a spike to the forearm last Friday,’ according to Bart Hubbuch at his blog for the New York Post.
Hubbuch also provides details of the injury, which, as stated above, forced Murphy to be taken to the a Phoenix hospital.
According to the New York Post, “The Brewers have informed teams they are willing to listen to offers for first baseman Prince Fielder,” in exchange for a “substantial package.”
In a recent report for ESPN.com, Buster Olney wrote, “Rival execs expect the Brewers to consider swapping Fielder for a pitcher, like Matt Cain,” who, at 22 years old, had a 3.76 ERA, while striking out 186 batters, in 34 starts.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Fielder hit 34 HR with 102 RBI in 2008.
…fielder will go to arbitration for the first time this off-season, and is under contract through 2011…the buzz around baseball is that he is likely to be rewarded a $10 million salary, similar to what Ryan Howard got last off-season…
…nevertheless, if you’re a Mets fan who wants fielder, it sounds like you would need to trade at least Mike Pelfrey to get him……
Joey Mayo at NY Baseball Digest dispells the myths that Mike Francesa of WFAN has been perpetuating regarding David Wright not being a clutch player.
Myth #3 on his list is that Evan Longoria is better than David Wright:
“Could he be in the future? Sure. Is that guaranteed? Nope. So why would Mike call me ridiculous when I said I wouldn’t trade Wright for Longoria? Because Mike probably doesn’t know that when David Wright was 22 he was putting up a .911 OPS in the majors, compared with Longoria this year putting up an .875. Once again this might be lost on the math challenged Mike.”
“Than again Mike might just think Wright has been 25 since he broke into the major leagues. I also enjoy the notion that Mike Francesa is a connoisseur of young talent…yes the man who once asked “Who’s David Wright?” when he was the Mets top prospect, the man who laughed at Dustin Pedroia being anything more than average, the man who said the Rays would never win the division, would like you to take him seriously when he says he can see Longoria has the tools to be better than David Wright.”
…i pretty much stopped listening to francesca when it was him and the mad dog…they understand the medium of talk radio, which has become getting listeners riled up so they can debate their opinions…i just don’t feel like playing their game…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
According to Lynn Henning in the Detroit News, the Tigers may need to consider trading OF Magglio Ordonez, something the team is not in favor of doing.
“A more realistic possibility,” writes Hemming, “is the Tigers would agree to absorb some of Ordonez’s remaining money if they could gain a reliever, shortstop or catcher in return.”
The 35–year-old Ordonez will earn $18 million next season.
His $15 million club option for 2010 and 2011 are guaranteed if he plays in a certain number of games in 2009, otherwise he can be bought out of his contract for $3 million after next season.
…assuming the Mets look to left field as a way to upgrade the offense, if they are unable to sign Manny Ramirez, or trade for Matt Holliday, or sign a less-expensive free agent, ordonez could be a decent option, considering players like Raul Ibanez and Adam Dunn will likely sign a three-year deal anyway…i’m not sure magglio makes a whole lot of sense, given the history of his knees, the National League, etc., but he is an option worth keeping an eye on, though i would probably prefer dunn in this scenario…
Ordonez hit over .298 and at least 20 HR with at least 100 RBI, while playing in at least 146 games, during each of the last three seasons for Detroit.
…thanks to Jordan M for the link…
Roger from Clearwater sent in an e-mail asking:
“When will the Mets release their spring training schedule.”
According to the team, they usually release their spring training at some point in December.
However, SpringTrainingOnline.com is keeping track of the team’s likely spring training schedule, based on what other teams have already posted on their websites.
By the way, from what I recall, the Mets will play a two-game exhibition series with the Red Sox in Citi Field, after they leave Florida for Spring Training, but before the regular season begins.
At Gotham Baseball, Eric Stashin discusses the repercussions of trading Scott Kazmir in 2004.
Stashin writes:
“I don’t think that the Mets would have won a championship in ’06, even with Kazmir. It wasn’t the starting pitching that did them in during that series. You just can’t say that Kazmir would have made such a drastic difference, changing the course of the series. Game 7 came down to the bullpens, with Aaron Heilman giving up the game winning shot in the top of the ninth. It was a crushing blow, but one that Kazmir could have done little to prevent.”
Stashin also points out that without having traded Kazmir, the Mets wouldn’t have Johan Santana right now.
…these speculative pieces are fun to read but hard to quantify…all i do know is that after begrudgingly watching him as a ray for a few years, i have finally let go of the disappointment in trading kazmir…i can’t lie though, that picture does irk me a little bit…
Mets RHP Brad Holt has the second-best fastball of any player drafted in the 2008 draft, according to Baseball America.
In a post to Mets Minor League Blog in September, Toby Hyde wrote the following about Holt, among other things:
“Holt has the potential to be a mid-rotation or better starter if he refines his secondary offerings. His best pitch is an explosive fastball that was 94-95 mph and touched 97… Scouts were blown away by the progress he made with the offering as a professional this summer. Holt almost never threw his changeup. He understands very well that he must develop the changeup as he moves up the chain.”
In eight starts for Single-A Brooklyn this season, the 22–year-old Holt was 5–3 with a 1.87 ERA, while striking out 96 batters in 72 innings, during which opponents hit .171 against him – left-handed batters hit just .115.
…if he’s going to be a two-pitch pitcher, let’s say, and he has that sort of fastball, i wonder if the Mets will eventually start seeing him as a potential closer…
According to Ken Davidoff in Newsday, the Mets believe they have enough minor-league talent to trade for a closer, such as M’s RHP J.J. Putz, A’s RHP Huston Street, O’s LHP George Sherrill, Royals RHP Joakim Soria and Marlins RHP Kevin Gregg.
…as i wrote yesterday, the early sense i get is that the Mets know they’ll need to make trades this off-season, to rotate talent and create a new mix…so, they will not have time to wait out Francisco Rodriguez, who will likely seek a four– or five-year contract…instead, i suspect the Mets will explore a trade for a closer, like a putz, or B.J. Ryan, trusting Brian Fuentes will not sign a contract until after rodriguez sets the bar…
Regarding Nick Evans, Robert Parnell, Jon Niese and Daniel Murphy, Davidoff writes, “Only Evans would be easily attainable right now, but the Mets believe they have more ‘hidden gems’ in their system.”
Davidoff also reveals what scouts are saying about Street, Putz and Sherrill.
He also writes about his conversation with Francisco Rodriguez’s agent, who will be at the GM Meetings next week in California, and who has said he is seeking a five-year contract for his client.
In 47 games for the Mariners in 2008, during which he was on the disabled list twice, once with a hyperextended right elbow, the 31–year-old Putz was 6–5 with a 3.88 ERA with 15 saves in 23 opportunities.
He had a 1.88 ERA in 2007 with 40 saves, and a 2.30 ERA in 2006 with 36 saves.
